Clang! Clang!
Two flying swords clashed mid-air, weaving like twin dragons.
A man and a woman were sparring—sharp, vicious, using pure killing forms.
As their swords crossed, Xu Yue'er's eyes flashed. A ripple of invisible psychic force blasted outward. The male disciple opposite her jerked violently, his mind plunging into chaos—illusions blooming, emotions spiraling. His spiritual control snapped, and with a harsh clang, his sword dropped to the floor.
"Incredible! Senior Sister Xu—how did you get this strong? Your spirit surged so much you almost turned me into an idiot! Ten days ago we were equals!"
The man staggered to his feet, pale and sweating. The mental shock had nearly wiped out his consciousness.
"It's nothing," Xu Yue'er said lightly. "I've just been taking Taiyi Sect's Yuan Infant Pills every day. I never knew they were this miraculous. Ten days straight, and all the blockages in my blood and qi shattered. No wonder Taiyi stands as the number-one immortal sect. This pill alone lays a foundation unmatched."
She produced a glittering pellet. A tiny infant shadow slumbered at its core—alive, breathing, wondrous.
"Ah! A Yuan Infant Pill!"
"It really is!"
"Senior Sister, you have these to eat? Then the top spot in the Mountain-River Rankings is definitely yours! But… where did you get such a treasure?"
The inner disciples around her practically vibrated with envy.
"This isn't from Taiyi Sect," Ye Yu said with a soft smile. "These were refined by Senior Brother Fang Han of Reincarnation Peak. He possesses unmatched divine abilities—he can create Yuan Infant Pills in huge quantities. He rewarded the eight of us from the Jialan Society with two hundred pills each. The Mountain-River Tournament is in four or five months—the sect is offering massive prizes. You'd all better work hard.
"Oh, and Reincarnation Peak is recruiting disciples for pill-watching, herb-farming, and beast-tending. If you want the chance to earn Yuan Infant Pills daily, go speak with Junior Sister Hongyi."
Excitement rippled instantly through the crowd.
Xu Yue'er and Ye Yu—both disciples Fang Han met on the Heavenly Demon Battlefield—had been given the first wave of pills. Their task was simple:
Spread the news.
Stir the hearts of the sect.
"Fang Han… isn't he the one who challenged Senior Brother Hua Tiandu?"
"No wonder he dared. But how does he have the ingredients to refine so many pills?"
"Let's go see! If we can get even a few of those pills, our cultivation might actually move forward. Otherwise we'll rot in place forever…"
Within days, the rumor exploded through the entire sect.
Fang Han can refine Yuan Infant Pills—endlessly.
Tens of thousands of inner and outer disciples rushed to Reincarnation Peak, desperate to meet Princess Hongyi and beg for positions.
She chose a handful of reliable disciples and gave each ten pills, allowing them to collect one per day thereafter. Once the sect saw that the news was real—
The entire Yuhua Sect erupted.
Yuan Infant Pills—supreme treasures—were streaming nonstop from Fang Han's hands. It was like opening the granaries during famine.
Hua Tiandu had long been worshiped like a deity.
Now Fang Han was quietly stealing every heart.
Each day, he produced 336 pills.
Each day, his influence grew like wildfire.
Tens of thousands of disciples scrambled to cling to Reincarnation Peak. Even true disciples—usually aloof—began to stir.
Even they needed pills—only Longevity experts could live on pure qi alone.
Far to the southeast stood a black mountain—towering like a pillar of forged iron.
This was Black-Iron Peak, belonging to an elite true disciple known as the Black-Iron True Lord.
A master of the Sixth Layer of the Divine Ability Realm—Unity Stage. In Yuhua Sect, that placed him among the upper echelon. Not equal to the Five Heavenly Stars (East Lingxiao, South Wanluo, West Jialan, North Yaoguang, Central Tiandu), but still a name that commanded respect across the world.
Inside Black-Iron Peak's pill chamber, a gathering of powerful true disciples met.
Their leader sat quietly: a black-clad middle-aged man. His robe wasn't mere cloth—the Black-Iron War Cloak, a top-grade treasure immune to fire, water, thunder, and lightning.
He had mastered a wide spread of divine abilities and completed the Five Elements—nearly comparable to a Seven-Leaf Demon Lord.
The disciples around him wore robes of vibrant colors—each garment a treasure of mid-grade or better. Their auras rolled like storm tides. All of them had reached the Fifth Layer—Heaven-Human Realm.
The elite of the elite.
Black-Iron True Lord held a Yuan Infant Pill between his fingers, turning it slowly.
"This pill… it really was refined by Fang Han," he said at last. "Taiyi Sect's versions aren't nearly this pure. Meanwhile, I'm still stuck using Foundation Pills—hunting demons and gathering herbs year after year. The wasted time… shameful. Heaven-Human and Unity experts have only eight hundred years. I've already spent four hundred. If I don't change something soon, my spirit will wither and I'll die of old age."
Another disciple nodded gravely. "Yes. Even high-level experts in our sect have died of decline. Once your essence starts slipping, nothing can restore it. Only forming a Golden Core extends life again."
"If Fang Han can supply us with Yuan Infant Pills daily," another said, eyes brightening, "we could cut out centuries of herb-gathering and refinement. In return, helping him challenge Hua Tiandu would not be unreasonable."
A deep truth hung over the chamber:
Cultivators spent half their lifetime looking for materials, not cultivating.
The sect couldn't sustain everyone. Elders cultivated too—they couldn't babysit parasites forever.
"Should we go see Fang Han now?" a disciple asked eagerly. "Besides the Five Stars, there are several Unity-stage true disciples hungry to form their Golden Core. With Fang Han's pills, our chances rise enormously. Senior Brother Xuan Tie, if you move first, you may secure a powerful ally. And don't forget—Fang Han owns the Yellow Springs Diagram. A few drops of Forget-Love Water could purify our qi and remove worldly impurities. It would greatly strengthen our chance to form a Golden Core!"
"Let's go! We should—"
"Wait."
The Black-Iron True Lord raised a hand.
"Fang Han is our fellow disciple, yes—but we have no bond with him. If we suddenly knock on his door asking for hundreds of pills and precious Forget-Love Water… why would he give them? Strength aside, courtesy matters."
"He's just a Heaven-Human cultivator," scoffed a tall, sharp-eyed young man in dark-gold robes. "We're on equal footing. Offering us a bit of medicine is hardly a loss."
This was Wu Li—young, arrogant, and undeniably brilliant.
"Wu Li, you're mistaken," another disciple said coldly. "He doesn't fear Hua Tiandu. Do you think we can pressure him?"
"I can make him give us all the pills and water we want," Black-Iron True Lord said quietly.
All eyes turned to him.
"He obtained the Yellow Springs Diagram. That means he's cultivating the Five Emperor Great Demon Divine Arts. Their power rivals Taiyi's Twelve Gates… but their difficulty is monstrous. They demand immense Five Elements essence. Hundreds of years of nonstop absorption. With his time limit, he can't afford that.
"If we can supply him with Five-Element Essence, he will give us everything."
Wu Li frowned. "Five-Element Essence? That's something everyone needs. How could we possibly supply enough? Just the gold essence alone—ten people cultivating the Grand Freedom Gold Sword Qi wouldn't match what he needs. Even if we offered all of Yuhua Sect's metal mines, he'd drain them dry."
"You've forgotten," Black-Iron True Lord said softly.
His tongue wet his lips.
"There is still… the Five-Element Spirit Root."